Late Date
by UnderdogHero
Summary: "It's complicated, involved Ludger, Beryl, Jade and a LOT of cats." Spada had a decent reason for being late to Christmas.


A/N: I kinda default to Tales when I need to write something and don't have any ideas. Specifically, Academia, which is the easiest. Luckily Zephyr said "Go for it", so here's my gift to them!

That being said, Merry Christmas! Or what's left of it, at least.

 **.**

Spada was late.

Ruca watched as the large clock hands ticked away, the time reading half past six. The square was bustling as always, and he occasionally glanced at the groups and couples passing him by.

Just ten minutes ago he'd been chatting with Leon, before Stahn ran past, taking the boy with him(he barely caught of glimpse of Leon's murderous expression before they disappeared around the corner). Before that, Asbel and Richard passed him, greeting him with a "Merry Christmas" and continuing on their way. By now he's lost count of how many people had bothered to talk to him, that he at least knew by name.

Thankfully, it wasn't cold today. At least, not much. It was snowing lightly, but the campus staff had lit torches around the square, so the air was warm. He wasn't sure if he was disappointed or not, seeing as it meant he wasn't able to wear that nice winter sweater Yuri had given him(for some reason the card said "Sorry for last time", which confused him greatly) but he supposed other people appreciated it, especially since he's seen some of the girls walking around in rather cute Christmas dresses.

He rubbed his hands together, more out of habit than to warm them up, and pulled out his phone. Seeing no messages, he sighed, pocketing it and looking back at the clock, wondering if he should just turn around and sit inside the cafe. He knew what time it was, and he knew he could just call, but a part him just wanted to trust that Spada would _be here soon-_

"Ruca!"

His head snapped in the direction of the voice, standing on his toes to see over the crowd of people blocking his boyfriend from view. He could barely see the other boy's hat, watching as it bobbed in and out of sight. It wasn't his usual brown military cap either - instead, he seemed to be wearing a beret with a white fur trim and pom-pom on top, and once he got closer, Ruca could see that he was also wearing a red Santa jacket and black slacks. The only things out of place were his backpack, which was the same one he used for school, and the bright green scarf Ruca had given him the day before.

"I'm here! I'm here! Thank god I'm finally here!" Spada started shouting as he got closer, looking ragged and out of breath.

"Spada, uh, what are you-" He was cut off when he was suddenly pulled into a tight hug, which was followed by a quick kiss on the cheek.

He collected himself as quickly as he could, allowing Spada to hold him for another few seconds before repeating his question.

"What are you wearing?" He said, with a slight laugh. Spada groaned and shook his head.

"It's complicated, involved Ludger, Beryl, Jade, and a LOT of cats."

True to his word, Ruca could see bits of cat hair sticking to his pants, obvious because of the dark color.

"But that's not important!" He said suddenly, struggling to take off his backpack and pull it to his front. He dug around for a while, having to go through textbooks and worksheets that looked worryingly blank(he made a mental note to ask about that later) before pulling out a box about the size of a small book. The wrapping was red with white snowflakes and had a nice mint green ribbon tied around it. Both the wrapping and ribbon were rather messy, it looked like it was done in a hurry.

"What's this?" He asked, taking it when it was offered and turning it over to see tape holding the ribbon in place.

"Uh, yer present? I mean, it's kinda Christmas." Spada shrugged. "Had to wrap it on the way though, didn't have time after that... thing."

Ruca wondered what it was he was doing if Spada couldn't find another way to describe it.

"So... open it." Spada said anxiously, putting more weight on his left leg while he watched. Ruca turned it back over and carefully removed the ribbon before attempting to pick off the tape. "Oh for- just rip it! I know you want to."

He returned Spada's grin with his own, and finally tore away the wrapper. It came off easily, already being poorly put together in the first place. What greeted him was a dark orange cover, with a familiar symbol on the front.

"A translation of the Book of Innominat?" He said in awe, feeling the leather cover. Spada shifted shyly.

"Well, yeah. Ya said ya wanted to read it, an' Oscar gave me one hell of a time, but he still held a copy for me..." He gestured to his outfit, and things suddenly clicked in Ruca's mind.

"You were doing a job?"

"Jade said he needed people, and the pay was good, so I kinda took it without askin' questions. Didn't know it was going to be like _that_ though..."

He trailed off at the end, staring darkly at the coat he wore. Ruca finally let out a chuckle, earning him a pleading look.

"Let's go inside, Lailah said she'd get some hot chocolate ready when you got here." Spada's puppy dog eyes were replaced with a bright grin, and he stepped forward to follow.

"Oh, by the way." Spada said suddenly, and Ruca turned around before being pulled into another hug."

"Merry Christmas, buddy!"

 **.**

A/N: Three. Hours. This year has not been a good one.

You can tell I ran out of ideas and didn't know how to end this, but those three hours were spend typing and erasing so much until Spada appeared... It also feels like Ruca played a very background role, despite being in most of the fic.

I'LL TRY BETTER ON VALENTINES.


End file.
